Tape and process of making same



B. W. GATES.

TAPE AND PROCESS 0F MAKING SAME. APPLICATION F|LEDJUNE15,19is.

Patented Mar. 28, 1922.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

lible fibrous, paper,

stares BERNARD W. GATES, 0F PLEASANTVILLE, NEW YORK.

TAPE AND PROCESS OF MAKING SAME.

il A110', 7415.

Application 1ed .Tune 15,

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, BERNARD W. GATES, a citizen of the United States,residing at leasantville, in the county of Westchester and State of NewYork, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tape andProcesses of Making Same, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in tape, and in processes ofmaking tape. Efforts to produce a commercial paper tape which shouldhave considerably more tensile strength than an equal weight of thickpaper in plain strip form, and which should permit manipulation understress and bending where ordinary paper would quickly tear, date backmany years, as such tape might be used with equal or superior 'resultsfor various purposes for which cotton tape, cotton twine and paper twinehave heretofore been used or proposed. The present invention I believeto be first to succeed in this; and incidentally it provides a tapehaving other new and useful advantages. Among these are the retention ofits flat form more persistently than any other kind of easily .flexortextile tape known to me. It is a tape moreover on which printing iseasily applied and well displayed; and, oppositely, for caseswhere it isdesired to protect printing from exposure or abrasion, it provides aflexible foldedltape which persistently refuses to open orspread'underany. normal handling, or to collapse. f

The advantages mentioned adapt this tape particularly for use in rope,for the purpose of associating printed information therewith withoutinterfering with the rope structure. It istherefore amongithe objects ofthe inven-tion to provide a tape whose structure is firm and whichaffords a large -surface for receiving printed information; and yetwhich is so condensed together, and of such fiexible character and soshaped that the body of material of which itY consists does notinterfere appreciably with that perfect spiral laying ofthreads andstrands, androordination of arrangement and tension, which is essentialto the manufacture' of a good grade of rope. F or commercial reasons itis also important that this be done by a method involving b ut littlecost for labor and materials. The facilit-y with which the simple tapemay be reinforced by Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented li'iar. 28, 1922. 191Bf Serial No. 240,155.y

a wire or textile thread, at its edges, adapts it particularly for otherpurposes, giving still Vgreater strength to resist tearing. ifi/hen usedas a twine its flatness adapts it for tying bunches of asparagus andother vegetables, and for packages where it is desired that the stringshall not cut into the surface.

he invention attains these objects by a continuous process in which aflat strip of paper of suit-able quality is converted into the tape asthe stripl is drawn forward. The first step is rollin the edges thereofrepeatedly upon themseilves inward and backward. The strip thus narrowsobliquely to a fraction of its original width, for example, to aboutone-fifth of it. The narrowed tape with rolled edges is then, byorganized crushing while under tension, condensed into a longitudinallywrinkled state, its two edge masses being in proximity in the middle,and the whole is by pressure iiattened in parallelism with whatoriginally was the flat way of the tape. Preferably, the pressing isdone gradually, and accompanied by restrictions which prevent the rolledmass from spreading.` In that case the upstanding loosely rolled edgeportions, which were abut-ting together in the middle of the tape,4

adjust themselves to flat shape by each pressing beyond `the middle. Inso doing, a fold of one of them enters a wrinkle in the other, aided bythe preliminary edge crushing operation which hasy broken the materialinto wrinkles, resultingin an `interlocked arrangement of creases whichmakes a closed seam in the middle of one side. The tape is completed bya heavyfinal pressing. The multiple interior folds formed by theflattening of the original rolling are thus forced toward the edges,and, being creased by the heavy pressure, remain there in the finishedproduct, giving strength where most needed. By the restraint againstedgewise spreading existing at the time of this creasing the width ofthe product is made absolutely uniform.

When the tape is to be reinforced with cotton thread or otherwise athread is introduced into each first or outside fold, and in thefinished tape these two threads then lie near each edge toact as areinforcing against possible tearing of the tape. 'Ihe folded materialmay be of waterproof nature or may be treated with a waterproofcompound. By using adhesive materials or other compounds between thefolds, various degrees of rigidity or pliability may be obtained.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the process by which the tape ofthe invention is made, one kind of apparatus for making it, and one kindof tape which embodies the invention; but it is to be understood thatthese are merely illustrative and that varia tions may be made withinthe scope of the appended claims. It is intended that the patent shallcover by suitable expression in the appended claims whatever features ofpatentable novelty are possessed by the process or by the productdisclosed.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view illustrating the performance of theprocess;

Figures 2-6 are cross sections, through the material illustrated inFigure 1 at various points along its course, greatly enlar ed;

igure 7 is a side elevation showing the apparatus;

Figure 8 represents a form of the tape 1ncluding strengthening threads;or electric conductors;

Figure 9 is a front elevation, enlarged from Figure 1, but not to thescaleof Figures 2-6, of a detail; and

Figure 10 is a side elevation through the same viewed as in Figure 7, insection.

The drawings show the various stages of development of the tape from afiat strip of paper of single thickness, which may, for example, beassumed to be l wide, to a finished folded tape which may, for example,be assumed to be wide. The tape as a whole is marked 10 and thesuccessive portions are, respectively, the part a, which is the rawmaterial, a mere fiat strip of paper; b, where the edges are beingrolled inward and backward, obliquely, until the whole has been narrowedto te or thereabouts; c, where the structure thus produced is crushed orcondensed edgewise to a width which may be less than 3;, being, however,permitted a little expansion in the direction of thickness, and therolls acquire furrows or wrinkles extending longitudinally, and becomemore; or less intermeshed, and are then crushed in the originaldirection of thickness; d, where condensation or gradual compression inthe original direction of thickness of the strip is in progress,reducing the thickness further, accompanied by lateral restraint whichprevents the furrows from becoming unmeshed, and e, where the condensedproduct thus held enmeshed has been by heavy pressure flattened to andcreased in its final form. The final form of the tape has the generalaspect shown in the latter part of Figure 1, and has'the structureillustrated, with some distortion of proportions, on an enlarged scalein cross section in Figure 6. The under surface of the tape is smoothand constitutes a face on which printing previously applied-to the tapemay be clearly displayed and be easily legible, or on which printing maysubsequentlybe done. The upper surface is of two folds interlocked. Whenthe tape is made with the apparatus herein described, the line ofcleavage runs in the middle with great regularity, and in much of thefinished product is hardly noticeable. This line, however, is the placewhere the tape may be opened if desired, by successively unfolding eachSide until the strip is spread out in its original thinness and breadth;and thus any printed matter within is displayed. Notwithstanding theslant at which the edges are rolled inward, at b, which distortsrectilinear elements that originally extended perpendicularly across thestrip, the said elements are found restored to their originalperpendicularity'in the finished tape, as if it had been rolled inperpendicularly. Probably this restoration occurs as the rolls passthrough the die. The finished tape. illustrated in the drawing iseight-ply in thickness, the several folds,'be ing engaged one withinanother at each edge of the finished product, and the central portion ofthe finished product being made up by the interlocking of the outerconvolutionsof each side, which contain somewhat more material than theinner. The interlocking structure may be constituted by a subsidiaryfold or crease on one of these outer convolutions overlying the edge ofthe other outer convolution while its main edge underlies the edgeof thesaid other convolution. Or the main edge of one may overlie and asubsidiary crease of it underlie the main edge of the other convolution,The arrangement of this may vary in different parts of the length ofthetape, it being sometimes one and sometimes the other as chance maydetermine. And it appears that even if this feature be absent, and thetwo outside convolutions simply lie with the edges abutting in themiddle they are so securely held in position by the arrangement andmutual engagement of elements of. the vgeneral structure that theymaintain their positions very satisfactorily. Reinforcing wire ortextile threads, if lthere be`any, lmay lie within the lnmost.

The process by lwhich this product is manufactured may lpreferably becarried out as a continuous operation by mechanism; and 1n that case theapparatus needed is simple. That illustrated in the drawings consists ofa die, through'which the tape is drawn, intervenlngbetween a guide rolland a pair of drawing and compressing rolls. To this may be added, ifdesired, and as illustrated, a former consisting of a tapering grooveclosed on its open side .by resting against pass through the die thefinal compressing roll. In the drawings, the spool, on which thefinished tape 10 is to be wound, is marked 11 and is carried by suitablespindles which are adapted to hold it removably and to cause it torotate, and which may be driven by any suitable means, not shown. Toreach this spool, the raw stock is drawn from a supply roll 9, where ithas the shape of a single ply paper strip, over a tension rod 14 andover a guide roll l5 and through a die 16. Thence it passes through theformer 21, if desired, and then between compressing rolls 17 and 18whose action completes it, and makes it ready for spooling, or for any,further treatment that may be desired. The draft may be arranged by anysuitable means, preferably by the seizure of the tape betweencompressing rolls 17, 18, which may be equipped with intermeshing gears20, and by positively driving one or both of said rolls. The condenserand former 21 which may be arranged to operatein conjunction with oneJof the compresslng rolls, 18, is a simple metallic bar, preferably ofsteel, resting smoothly against the surface of the roll and having onits face which is against the roll a tapering groove 21 of suitable sizeand shape to receive and condense the thickness of the tape .passingthrough it, whose width has already been condensed by the circular die16.

The operation of this apparatus is as follows. The paper strip isstarted through the die 16 by rolling in the corners of its leading enduntil a point is formed small enough to be led through the die. Thensteady draft of the leading end on the other side of the die causes thisrolling of the edges to progress steadily along the strip. As each freshbit of the strip reaches the die, its rolling ceases and the rollededges thereof that have just been made are crushed edgewiseof the tapeso that they and the bit of tape intervening between them can loosely.This breaks up the stillness ot the stock, making longitudinal wrinklesonly in the rolled portions and not the portion of tape interveningbetween the rolled portions, depending upon the relative size of Athehole through the die, the quantity of paper which has to pass, and thetightness and the angle of the rolling. The latter depends upon thedistance from the die back to the guide roll and the width of stock andthe tension. These various elements interact and may be variouslyadjusted according to whatever stock is used or result desired, with theaid of a little experimenting to get the correct setting if necessary.lt appears that the shape of the die is not necessarily circular, asdies of various oval or elliptic shapes operate successfully. 0n worksuch as that illustrated, the plane of the plate having the circular dieis set at an angle to the line of draft of the strip; and the latterline bends at the dies top edge.

The die may have straight sides or may have a chamfered throat approachor a bell 'mouth so that the tape is led into it gradually and withoutand rending effect. Being set at an angle as illustrated in the drawing,the bottom and curved sides of the strip ride in over the part of thesmooth concave surface approaching the place of smallest diameter in thedie, and are laterally crushed before the top of the' same part of thestrip reaches the top edgeJ of the die. This last occurs immediatelyafterward, and as the strip passes through and is bent upward around theedge at the rear of the die the top undergoes a drag or retardationwhich helps introduce some wrinkles or creases extending obliquely, butin a general longitudinal direction. with their openings'facinglaterally, and the rolled portions are somewhat crushed in the directionof the thickness of the strip. ln a tape having the original width aboveassumed for illustration, an inch and three-fourths, drawn through a diehole of one-eighth of an inch or thereabouts in diameter, the liatstructure with rolled edges may be maintained down to a width ofthree-eighths of an inch or less` following which the crushing occurs inwidth and in thickness at the die, the tape expanding a little both inwidth and thickness after passing through. lf it goes then direct to thecompression rolls., 17, 18, their effect will be to expand it a littlein width as they flatten it, and to fix it by the formation of sharpcreases on each edge of each ot the laminated edgerolls in thewidth thusdetermined. lt is preferred, however, to pass it through theintermediate condensing and forming die 21. This causes the convolutionsof paper within the rolled parts to adjust themselves gradually to atlat condition by slipping on each other as the thickness is graduallyreduced, edgewise expansion beyond the predetermined limit beingprevented by the sides of the groove, so that the tape issuingatherefrom is nearly dat and has not much slack for further edge-wiseexpansion. Being then immediately subjected to the heavy .compression ofthe rolls 17, 18, it acquires a permanent set. rllhe same formingoperation makes the under side of the tape maintain or assume a flatsmooth shape while the convolutions adjust themselves, because" theunder side of the tape is tight against the cylindrical surface of theroll 18, and vsuch slipping of outside convolutions as occurs takesplace by their slipping past each other on the other side of the tapewhere their free edges are. As the tape has already been made flexibleinternally by the formation of numerous sharp wrinkles, such of these asare suitably located produce an interlocking effect with each other.When the available depth of penetration of one into the other has beenreached the remaining slack material, which must be spread out in orderto be flattened, extends under or over the creases which are interlockeduntil it is substantially fiat. 'In this position and lying on the roll18 it passes immediately to the heavy compression roll 1T and thus iscreased and made fixed.

The edges of the tape thus formed present a calendered, tough papersurface, better able than an edge of a paper sheet to resist a tearingor rending stress and presents not only one such surface but multiplesurfaces, one behind and closely reinforcing another. These both make itmore difficult to start the rending of the outmost lamination, but alsocontinue the resistance even after the outmost may' have been rent.Perhaps it is because of the extreme strength of the edges that. thetape is found in practice to have decidedly more tensile strength than aplain strip of paper of even greater bulk, for a break under tensilestress ordinarily begins with a rending of one edge. However, theintimate laminated relation of the layers to each other, with frictionbetween them, also helps any part of the paper which may be weaker towithstand a tensile strength longer than it otherwise would. To thisfrictional resistance the interlocking of parts resulting from thepressing together of wrinkled surfaces contributes. 1f it be desired toincrease further the strength, threads Q3 of textile or other materialmay be fed into the rolled edges of the original flat strip as indicatedin the drawing, Figure 8; and thus in the finished product will lieclose to each edge, giving further reinforcement..

Any suitable material may be employed for the tape. It is to beobserved, however, that the successidepends largely upon those peculiarcharacteristics of paper which enable it to take and retain a crease andto be relatively stiff where not creased. Paper that is waterproof maybe employed; or paper may be treated with any other kind of a compound,the treatment in such case being preferably applied ust before therolling begins, as by a moistening roller 12 carrying the compound froma pan 13 and pressing against the tape while it is going over the guide15. As the paper is rolled and put through the process immediately, theadded compound does not have time to change the character of thepaper-so as to interfere with the performance of the process. Varioussuch adhesives may be used, it being preferred to select an adhesivecomposition of the-type which is somewhat slippery when moist.

It is preferred to mount the steel piece 21 by means of a spring 22which-presses it upon the surface of the roll 17. The spring provides asafety appliance in case of need because it can yield if anincompressible bunch occurs in the tape and also makes sure that underordinary circumstances the face of this steel piece is close against theface of the roll. The groove therein is slightly rounded and tapered,diminishing in depth from beginning to end, as seen in Figure 10 andadapted in dimensions to the material that is being handled, with theidea of crowding the two abutting outer convolutions into and past eachother; and it ends close enough to the place where the tape is seizedbetween rolls 17 and 18 so that the latter catch the tape with its partsthus arranged.

If it be desired* to fold one edge of the paper more than the other thismay be accomplished by suitably arranging the angle at which the paperis guided to the die, so that either side is rolled more times than theother. The range of variation of the setting of the angle, and of thesize and shape of the hole through the die, and of the distances betweenrolls is considerable. Indeed variations of adjustment may be made inmany respects, within a rather wide range; and the particular adjustmentwhich is best 'in any particular case depends largely on the material inhand, or the result desired.

Then an adhesive gum is used, whether by moistening a previously gummedsurface, or by applying liquid gum, the paper need be treated on oneside only, and the rolling of the edges is toward that treated side, sothat the folds ultimately produced enclose and fully cover the gum. Thisleaves a cemented interior and an exterior which is smoothly finishedwith whatever qualities may have been givenlto the paper 1n advance suchas calendering, printing, color, etc. Because of this concealmentfeature, any addition or treatment, such as for giving strength, orthickness', or other qualities, may be carried on that side and will beout of sight in the finished product. For example, a coarse mesh textilefabric, or a waterproofing or insulating compound, or a compound forother purpose may be spread on the side of the paper which is to beturned in; and in case two wire threads are run into the rolls they willbe securely separated and may be thus insulated from each other, and thetape can then serve as a two wire electrical conductor. Such threads,either textile or wire, coming from supply rolls or other suitablesource can be guided into the cylindrical holes made by the rollingedges b. the openends of which are clearly seen in Figure 1.-

In the immediatelyT following stage these threads lie each within one ofthe edge coils of paper marked b, as seen in Figures 2 and 3; and in thefinished product one thread lies near each edge, as indicated in Figure8. In such a case each is separated the outside by sevwires safelv'eparated Ordinarily the rolls 17, 18 may be of steel or the like hardmaterial; but if threads or wires are to be inserted it is better to useSome kind of roll having a surface that can yield under intensepressure, such as felt or rubber, because with steel the wire or threadmay out the paper when the whole is compressed between runyieldingsurfaces. For some kinds of work these rolls may be omitted entirely,and the rope as it issues from the die 16 may be considered the finishedproduct. This has the advantage that the strip can be run at higherspeed. The product thus made has the characteristic form, the bottombeing flat and smooth, and the rolled masses at each edge of the topcompressed into flat folds; but it is not as perfectly creased and doesnot retain its form as perfectly nor as permanently as when therestrictive former 21 and the creasing rolls 17, 18, are used. Thepressure which does the work, when they are omitted, is the compressionof the edge rolls between the middle under portion of the strip, and theupper rear corner of the tilted die. The tension under which the stripis held, coupled with the sharp bend of the thick mass around thatcorner combine to make considerable compression on the top massescoupled with a smooth flattening of the bottom as the latter goes aroundthe corner on those cushionlike masses above it.

l claim as my invention:

1. A tape, comprising a strip of paper or the like having each edgerepeatedly folded on itself and with a fold of one edge thus madeintermeshed with a fold of the other edge.

2. A tape, comprisinga strip of paper or the like having each edgerepeatedly folded on itself, all of the folding being toward the sameside of the strip; both sides of the tape being flat, the surface on oneside consisting of said folded edges separated by a crevice, and thesurface on the other being continuous.

3. A tape, comprising a pair of flattened rolls of paper or the likelying side by side, and integrally connected together, one at each edgeof the tape.

4. A tape, comprising astrip of paper or the like, formed into two rollsextending longitudinallyof the strip, retaining their integralconnection, flattened inte abutting relation to each other, and combinedwith two threads, one of which is encased in each roll whereby thethreads are protected from external and from mutual contact.

5. A tape, comprising a strip of paper or the like, gummed on one sideonly and having its edges repeatedly rolled on themselves toward thegummed side, and flattened, with the said rolls enclosing, covering andheld by said gum.

6. A process of making tape comprising the rolling of the edges of astrip of paper or the like obliquely, until the rolls thus made are neartogether; crushing edgewise into a form in which the rolls contacttogether; crushing in the direction of the thickness of the strip,forming intermeshing wrinkles in the two rolls; and then compressing inthe said direction of thickness.

7. A process of making tape comprising the rolling of the edges of astrip of paper or the like obliquely,`until the rolls thus made are neartogether; and then compressing the said rolls and""strip in thedirection of the thickness of the strip into a flat sided shape withcreased edges.

8. A process of making tape comprising the 'rolling of the edges of astrip of paper or the like obliquely, until the rolls thus made are neartogether; forming longitudinal intel-meshing wrinkles in the rolls; andcompressing the rolls in the direction of thickness of the strip underrestraint uniformly limiting expansion in the direction' of width of thestrip.

9. A process of making tape comprising the rolling of the edges of astrip of paper or the like obliquely, together; and then compressing thewhole in the direction of the thickness of the strip to approximateflatness and afterward creasing the flat folds made by the compressing.

10. A process of making tape comprising the curling of the edges of astrip of dat paper or the like, and drawing the curled strip through arelatively small opening; bending the same around the further edge ofthe opening; and compressing dat the wrinkled mass thus produced.

11. A process of making tape comprising the curling of the edges of' astrip of flat paper or the like, and drawing the curled strip through arelatively small opening; and bending the same around the further edgeof the opening under tension, whereby the curled portions are compressedbetween the uncurled part and the edge Vof the opening.

12. A process of making tape comprising the curling of the edges of astrip of flat paper or the like, vthereby forming a somewhat condensedrnass of the strip with inter-lor spaces; and then crumpling the mass bycompression applied in the, direction of the thickness of the strip,meanwhile limituntil the rolls are near Vthe opening,

ing expansion of the mass in the direction of width of the strip.

13. A process of making tape comprising the drawing of a strip of flatpaper or the like through an opening considerably smaller than the Width'of the strip and meanwhile holding spread under tension that part ofthe tape which is close in advance of whereby buckling of the middlepart of the tape is prevented and the diminution to the width of theopening occurs by/ curling of the edges of the strip; followed bycompressing the curled portions in the direction of the thickness of thestrip.

14. A process of making tape comprising the curling of the edges of astrip of flat paper or the like obliquely, until the stripas a wholebecomes a mass having a small fraction of its original width and havingmultiple thickness with internal spaces; crushing this mass in theoriginal direction which alone constitutes the whole of one edge of thetape, the mass as a whole being compressed together in all directionsexcept the longitudinal, till its exterior is smooth and of a uniformWidth and thickness which the tape tends permanently to retain.

Signed at Pleasantville, this tenth day ofV June, 1918.

BERNARD W. GATES.

